What forex traders should actually know about MetaTrader 4
What keeps MT4 relevant after two decades
MetaQuotes stopped issuing new MT4 licences a while back, nudging brokers toward MT5. Still, most retail forex traders stayed put. The reason is simple: MT4 works, and people trust what works. Thousands of custom indicators, Expert Advisors, and community scripts run on MT4. Migrating to MT5 means rebuilding that entire library, and the majority of users don't see look at this the point.
After testing MT4 and MT5 side by side, and the differences are smaller than you'd expect. MT5 has a few extras like more timeframes and a built-in economic calendar, but chart functionality is very similar. For most retail strategies, there's no compelling reason to switch.
Setting up MT4 without the usual headaches
The install process is quick. Where people waste time is configuration. By default, MT4 opens with four charts squeezed onto a single workspace. Shut them all and open just the instruments you actually trade.
Templates are worth setting up early. Set up your preferred indicators once, then save it as a template. After that you can apply it to any new chart without redoing the work. Small thing, but over months it makes a difference.
A quick tweak that helps: open Tools > Options > Charts and enable "Show ask line." MT4 only shows the bid price by default, which makes buy entries seem misaligned by the spread amount.
How reliable is MT4 backtesting?
MT4's built-in strategy tester allows you to run Expert Advisors against historical data. But here's the thing: the reliability of those results depends entirely on your tick data. Standard history data from MetaQuotes is not real tick data, meaning the tester fills gaps mathematically. For anything beyond a rough sanity check, grab third-party tick data.
Modelling quality tells you more than the headline profit number. Below 90% means the results aren't trustworthy. Traders sometimes share screenshots with 25% modelling quality and ask why the EA fails in real conditions.
This is one area where MT4 genuinely outperforms most web-based platforms, but only if you feed it decent data.
Building your own MT4 indicators
MT4 comes with 30 standard technical indicators. Most traders never touch them all. That said, the platform's actual strength comes from custom indicators coded in MQL4. There are a massive library, ranging from basic modifications to complex multi-timeframe dashboards.
The install process is painless: copy the .ex4 or .mq4 file into your MQL4/Indicators folder, refresh MT4, and it appears in the Navigator panel. One thing to watch is quality. Publicly shared indicators are hit-and-miss. A few are solid tools. Many haven't been updated since 2015 and will crash your terminal.
When adding third-party indicators, check how recently it was maintained and whether people in the forums mention bugs. A broken indicator won't just give wrong signals — it can freeze MT4.
The MT4 risk controls you're probably not using
MT4 has several built-in risk management features that the majority of users skip over. First worth mentioning is maximum deviation in the trade execution window. This controls the amount of slippage is acceptable on market orders. Without this configured and the broker can fill you at whatever price the broker gives you.
Stop losses are obvious, but the trailing stop function are underused. Right-click an open trade, select Trailing Stop, and set your preferred distance. It adjusts automatically as price moves your way. It won't suit every approach, but for trend-following it takes away the need to micromanage the trade.
You can configure all of this in under five minutes and they remove a lot of the emotional decision-making.
Expert Advisors — before you trust a robot with your money
EAs sounds appealing: program your strategy and stop staring at charts. The reality is, most EAs lose money over any meaningful time period. EAs advertised with incredible historical results are usually curve-fitted — they worked on historical data and break down the moment the market does something different.
None of this means all EAs are useless. A few people code their own EAs to handle one particular setup: entering at a specific time, calculating lot sizes, or closing trades at set levels. That kind of automation tend to work because they execute repetitive actions without needing judgment.
When looking at Expert Advisors, use a demo account for no less than a few months. Forward testing tells you more than historical results ever will.
Using MT4 outside Windows
MT4 was built for Windows. Running it on Mac face a workaround. The old method was running it through Wine, which did the job but came with display glitches and stability problems. A few brokers now offer native Mac apps built on Crossover or similar wrappers, which are better but remain wrappers at the end of the day.
On mobile, on both Apple and Android devices, are genuinely useful for keeping an eye on open trades and tweaking stops. Doing proper analysis on a 5-inch screen is pushing it, but closing a trade while away from your desk is genuinely handy.
Check whether your broker offers real Mac support or a compatibility layer — the experience varies a lot between the two.